Falken Espia EPZ II Tire Review

Falken Tires is a member of Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc, which was founded in Japan in 1983 and is currently headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Delivering a variety of tires ranging from all-season, all-terrain to UHP tires, Falken has maintained the quality and performance that it delivered originally.

The Falken Espia EPZ II is a premium winter tire that is designed to be used on CUVs and SUVs and offers drivers strong traction and performance in icy, slushy, and snowy conditions in addition to a long tread life. Additionally, the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification makes it an ideal tire to perform in severe snow conditions.

But is the Espia EPZ II the right tire for you? Let’s take a look at this Falken Espia EPZ II review.

Features and Benefits

People who live in changing weather conditions often struggle to find the right tire for their vehicle. They are confused between a winter and an all-season tire. All-season tires are good for moderate temperatures and some slush and snow, but winter tires have a deeper tread depth that allows a firm grip keeping your wheel closer to the road while driving on snow and ice. These tires are engineered to perform in extreme temperatures during colder months, plus they are a bit more durable and better on those wet roads than an all-season tire.

Built with the latest technology in tread design, compound, and construction, the Espia EPZ II is an excellent blend of winter performance and longer tread wear. So, if you are looking for strong traction and performance in wet and dry conditions, plus better performance in winter weather you can opt for these tires. Let’s take a look at the Falken Espia EPZ II tire review to help understand all its features and benefits at a glance:

• Enhanced traction: Deep lateral notches and wide groove pockets and a flexible tread compound enhances grip in all winter driving conditions.
• Improved tread wear: This tire is built with a silica-enriched polymer design and interlocking sipes, for longer tread life and improved wear throughout the tire’s limited mileage warranty period.
• Optimized steering response: The 3D Canyon sipes add multiple biting edges and stabilized tread blocks compound of Espia EPZ II offers confident vehicle handling, stable cornering, and braking.
• Reduced hydroplaning: Falken's wide longitudinal grooves and aggressive asymmetrical tread pattern quickly channel water away for a wet grip and resist hydroplaning to provide excellent balance and traction on slippery/icy roads.
• Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certified: The Espia EPZ II comes with enhanced performance ability to perform in severe snow conditions thanks to its Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification.

The wheel size ranges from 14-inch to 18-inch which makes it an ideal choice for a wide range of vehicles on roads today. With a Falken tire on your vehicle, you can drive with peace of mind any day.

Pros and Cons

The Falken Espia EPZ II indeed is a great tire that offers drivers excellent traction and handling performance year-round. But is this really what your vehicle needs? Before deciding to buy the tire or not, let’s first drill down a few factors that can help you decide whether or not the tire is right for you.

• Excellent traction on wet and icy roads
• Longer tread life
• Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certified
• 3D Canyon sipes enhance grip on icy and snowy roads

While Falken makes a good claim about Espia EPZ II’s performance, some shortcomings may divide opinions.

• The ride is firmer than its closest premium competitors
• Cannot be used when temperatures are consistently above 45 degrees Fahrenheit
• Tread noise is a slight issue on rough pavement
• Not backed by a limited manufacturer tread life warranty

SimpleTire’s view on Falken Espia EPZ II tires

Falken has always delivered tires as per the need of the drivers and they are well aware of the road conditions and their handling. The same is seen in Espia EPZ II which gives you a solid performance as a winter tire as it is made with a durable rubber compound that promotes great vehicle handling and increased hydroplaning resistance. Additionally, asymmetrical tread design and wide slanting grooves prevent hydroplaning. Hundreds of adaptive sipes and a silica-enriched polymer design and interlocking sipes, deliver tread life and provide precise and responsive handling in cold weather conditions when winter roads have been cleared.

Although the Falken Espia EPZ II is a great choice for winter tires, if you are looking for excellent durability with similar longevity and traction you can consider Hankook Winter i* Pike X (W429A) against this tire.

Vehicles the Falken Espia EPZ II is a good replacement tire for

Commonly used on passenger vehicles performance cars and crossovers, the Falken Espia EPZ II can be a common replacement tire for vehicles such as AUDI A3, Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Fusion, Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Prius, Volkswagen Passat, Kia Soul, Nissan Altima, Toyota Corolla and more.